Apparatus for breaking compressed fibrous material



May 17, 1966 H. RAPP 3,251,096

APPARATUS FOR BREAKING COMPRESSED FIBROUS MATERIAL Original Filed June7, 1 62 3 h he l M n/Ir H ns- Ra May 17, 1966 H. RAPP 3,251,096

APPARATUS FOR BREAKING COMPRESSED FIBROUS MATERIAL May 17, 1966 H. RAPP3,251,096

APPARATUS FOR BREAKING COMPRESSED FIBROUS MATERIAL Original Filed June7, 1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 14 Claims. (c1. 19- s0)This is a division of my application Serial No. 200,745, filed June 7,1962.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for treatment of fibrousmaterials, and more particularly to an apparatus for breaking andteasing packages of stacked cotton slabs or raw cotton bales. Still moreparticularly, the invention relates to an apparatus wherein tufts offibrous material removed from stacked slabs or bales are immediatelysubjected to a thorough sifting, cleaning and mixing action.

An important object of the invention is to provide an exceptionallysimple and highly reliable apparatus which is capable of consecutivelybreaking raw cotton bales or cotton slabs in a continuous operation andwhich is constructed and assembled in such a way that the bales or slabsare comminuted into small tufts of uniform or nearly uniform size.

Another object of the invention is to provide an apparatus of the justoutlined characteristics which requires less energy than any apparatusfor the same purpose of which I am aware at this time because theinstrumentalities used for breaking of bales or slabs act in directionsin which the compressed fibrous material offers least resistance to acomminuting action.

A further object of the invention is to provide an apparatus forbreaking bales or slabs of compressed fibrous material which constitutesan improvement over the apparatus disclosed in a copending applicationSerial No. 96,221 now US. Patent No. 3,139,650, filed by Hermann Dieseland assigned to the same assignee.

The improved apparatus comprises means for advancing stacked slabsendwise against one or more re volving plucking rollers which arereciprocated in such a Way that their teeth move in directionssubstantially parallel with the general planes of the slabs. Itispreferred to mount two or more plucking rollers in a reciprocablecarriage and to rotate the rollers in opposite directions so that theymove tufts of fibrous material toward a plane which is locatedmidwaybetween and which is perpendicular to the plane common to the axes ofthe plucking rollers.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic of theinvention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. Theinvention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method ofoperation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, willbe best understood from the following detailed description of certainspecific embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal section in a vertical plane through -anapparatus which embodies one form of my invention, the section of FIG. 1being taken in the direction of arrows as seen from the line II of FIG.2;

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section through the apparatus as seen in thedirection of arrows from the line IIII "of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a similar horizontal section through a modified apparatuswhich is shown on an enlarged scale.

Referring now in greater detail to the illustrated emwhich are removedfrom the slabs.

bodiments, and first to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown an apparatus forbreaking a parallelepiped stack 1 of slabs consisting of compressedfibrous material and for thereupon sifting, mixing and cleaning tufts offibrous material As shown in FIG. 1, the stack 1 comprises a firstpackage of superimposed slabs 1a which are disposed in horizontalplanes, and a second package of superimposed slabs 1b which are alsodisposed in horizontal planes and which are located rearwardly of theslabs 1a. The slabs 1a or 1b may but need not be of identical thickness.A third package of slabs may be assembled on a stacking table T which isshown to the right of the package 1b. In other words, the packages ofstacks 1a, 1b and the package momentarily assembled on the table T mayform a continuous body of stacked horizontal slabs, and the two foremostpackages are engaged by a composite conveyor which, in the embodiment ofFIGS. 1 and 2, comprises four endless conveyors including an upperconveyor 2, a lower conveyor 3, a first lateral conveyor 4, and a secondlateral conveyor 5. Each of these conveyors comprises a pair of drivensprockets 2a, 3a, 4a, 5a, and an endless needle band or apron 2b, 3b,4b, 5b which is trained around the respective sprockets. Thestack-engaging inner runs or stringers of the aprons 4b, 5b are driven,downwardly, as viewed in FIG. 2, and the stack-engaging inner runs ofthe aprons 2b, 3b are driven in a direction to the left, as vewed inFIG. 1, so as to advance the package of slabs 1a endwise against a pairof toothed plucking rollers 7 and 8 which are best shown in FIG. 2 andwhich are mounted in a specially constructed carriage 9. The aprons2b-5bdefine between themselves a passage of substantially rectangularcross section through which the packages of stacked slabs advance towardthe carriage 9. Before reaching the plucking rollers 7 and 8, thepackage of stacked slabs 1a passing through the discharge end of thecomposite conveyor must advance through a rectangular frame 6 whichdefines a passage of diminishing cross section and which thus causes afinal compression of the slabs 1a before they reach the teeth 7a, 8a ofthe respective plucking rollers.

As shown in FIG. 1, the teeth 8a of the plucking roller 8 are preferablyarranged in the form of one or more helices so that, when the roller 8revolves, each horizontal layer of each slab 1a will be subjected to theaction of these teeth. The arrangement of teeth 7a on the periphery ofthe plucking roller 7 is analogous. Both pluck The carriage 9 forthe-rollers 7, 8 simultaneously serves as a means for preventing removalof large batches of fibrous material from the stacked slabs 1a. Inaddition, the carriage 9 may accommodate a motor 9a (shown schematicallyin FIG. 1) which is drivingly connected with the shafts of the rollers7, 8 e.g., through a suitable reducing gearing, soas to rotate theserollers in opposite directions. The base structure of the housing 31 ofthe apparatus accommodates a reversible motor 917 which serves as ameans. for reciprocating the carriage 9 back and forth along theleft-hand 'e'nd faces of the slabs 1a, as viewed in FIG. 1. This motor9b may drive the carriage through a rack-and-pinion assembly or thelike. The means 9a for rotating the plucking rollers 7, 8 in oppositedirections, and the means 9b, 90 for reciprocating the carriage 9 alongthe end faces of the slabs 1b are not shown in minute detail since many'types of such rotating and reciprocating means may be used, for example,simple gear trains, belts and pulleys, sprockets and chains, hydraulicor pneumatic motors, and many others. All that is necessary forsatisfactory operation of my improved bale breaking apparatus isthat-the rollers are rotated and that the carriage moves back and forthalong the slabs 1a in such a way that the teeth 7a, 8a are reciprocatedin horizontal planes and that the substantially vertical axes of therollers 7, 8 remain parallel with one another and remain in theirrespective substantially ver tical planes when the carriage 9reciprocates. It will be noted that the general planes of the slabs 1a,1b are perpendicular to the axes of the plucking rollers 7, 8 and to thecommon plane of these axes and that during reciprocation of the carriage9 the plucking roller 7 removes fibers from one half of the width of theslab end faces while the roller 8 does the same on the other half of thewidth of the slab end faces.

As shown in FIG. 2, the carriage 9 comprises several sections includinga hood-shaped first bafiie or shield 10a which partially surrounds theplucking roller 7, a hoodshaped second bafile or shield 1017 whichpartially surrounds the roller 8, and a substantially plate-like thirdbaffle or shield 11 which extends between the rollers 7, 8 and which isimmediately adjacent to the front end faces of the slabs 1a. The shields10a, 10b, 11 all of which are mounted on the carriage 9 define betweenthemselves two vertical apertures or windows 11a, 11b through which therollers 7, 8 project into actual engagement with the slabs In. It ispreferred to construct the carriage 9 in such a way that the rollers 7,8 and/or the shields 10a, 10b, 11 are adjustable with respect to eachother so as to change the width of the apertures 11a, 11b. Doubleheadedarrows 7', 8' in FIG. 2 indicate the directions in which, the rollers 7,8 are movable for adjusting purposes. The directions in which therollers 7, 8 rotate are selected in such a way that tufts 30 of fibrousmaterial removed from the slabs 1a are caused to pass through thewindows 11a, 11b and behind the central shield 11. In other words, thetufts 30 are advanced from one side of the vertical plane common to theaxes of the rollers 7, 8 to the other side of this vertical plane. Thevertical plane common to the axes of rollers 7, 8 is also the verticalaxial plane of the carriage 9 which reciprocates back and forth alongthe slabs 1a in horizontal direction. As soon as the package of slabs 1ais broken up, the continuously or intermittently advancing needle apronsZb-Sb move the next package (slabs 1b) into the range of revolving andreciprocating teeth 7a, 8a.

It is preferred to provide the frame 6 with hard and highly polishedmaterial-engaging inner faces to reduce friction when the conveyers 2-5are in operation.

At the left-hand side of the carriage 9,'as viewed in FIG. 1, thehousing 31 of the apparatus defines a downwardly inclined channel 21 ofdiminishing cross section whose intake end is adjacent to the carriageand through which the tufts 30 advance into the range of a first teasingroll r 13. The bottom wall in the channel 21 assumes the form of a grate12 through which any particulate matter heavier than the tufts 30 candescend by gravity into a receptacle 12a. Such heavier particulatematter may consist of stones, metallic particles and'the like which areaccidentally contained in the compressed fibrous material of the slabs.The grate 12 is preferably removable so that it may be replaced by agrate whose bars are spaced at a greater or lesser distance from eachother. The teasing roller 13 breaks up the tufts 30 and permits foreignparticles which might have been entrapped in the tufts 30 to drop bygravity through the bars of a second grate 17 which is located belowthis teasing roller and which allows such particles to descend into thereceptacle 12a. Additional teasing rollers 14, 15, 16 and additionalgrates 18, 19, are located in a flat upwardly inclined second channel 32which communicates with the channel 21 and through the fibrous materialis drawn by suction produced by a suitable apparatus, not shown. Theparticles descending through the grates 18, 19, 20 accumulate inreceptacles 18a, 19a, 20a, respectively. If desired, the receptacle 12amay be subdivided into two receptacles one of which receives particulatematter descending through the grate 12 and the other of which receivesforeign particles descending through the grate 17. The channel 32discharges comminuted, cleaned and intermixed tufts into a next machine,e.g., a cleaning apparatus, which is not shown in the drawings. Themixing action of the teasing rollers 13-16 is of particular advantagewhen the package momentarily engaged by the teeth of the pluckingrollers 7, 8 consists of slabs containing different fibrous materials.The manner in which the teasing rollers 13-16 may be driven ispreferably the same or similar to that disclosed in the aforementionedUS. Patent No. 3,139,650 of Hermann Diesel to which reference may be hadif necessary.

At least the median shield 11 may be biased by helical springs lie orthe like so as to yieldingly bear against the end faces of the slabs 1a.The other shields 10a, 101? may be biased in similar manner if desired.The apparatus of my invention may utilize a carriage with rigidlymounted shields if the nature of the slabs is such that the springs maybe dispensed with. The shields 10a, 10b, 11 may consist of sheet metalor the like. If they are biased by springs, the pressure which theshields exert against the slabs is selected in a way to avoid excessivefriction.

FIG. 3 illustrates a portion of a modified bale breaking and teasingapparatus which comprises a different carriage 109. This carriageincludes a casing 109a for vertical shafts of idler rollers 22-26 whichreplace the shields 10a, 10b, 11 and whose teeth 33 bite into and loosenup the fibrous material of the slabs 1a which are in the range of teeth107a, 1031). As shown, one or more toothed idler rollers (24-26) may bemounted in the space between the plucking rollers 107, 108, one idlerroller (22) may be located at the outer side of the plucking roller 107,and a further idler roller (23) may be provided at the outer side of theplucking roller 108. The rollers 22-26 may but need not be driven sincethey are compelled to rotate automatically when the carriage 109 isreciprocated along the end faces of the slabs 1a (see the double-headedarrow 34). The manner in which the teeth 107a, 108a are arranged inhelical groups, the manner in which the vertical shafts 107b, 10% aredriven, and the manner in which the carriage 109 is rcciprocated alongthe slabs 1a are preferably the same as described in connection withFIGS. 1 and 2. The tufts 30 of fibrous material removed by the teeth107a, 108a are directed toward a vertical plane which is locatedsubstantially midway between the plucking rollers 107, 108 and which isnormal to a vertical plane common to the axes of the shafts 107b, 10817.

The idler rollers 22-26 may consist of wood or a similar material, andthey constitute a composite shield which prevents removal of largebatches of fibrous material from the slabs 1a when the carriage 109reciprocates along the package momentarily engaged by the pluckingrollers 107, 108. If desired, the shafts of the rollers 22-26 may bemounted in suitable roller hearings or the like to reduce friction.

An important advantage of my improved apparatus is that, since theshafts of the plucking rollers 7, 8 or 107, 108 are vertical, sincethese plucking rollers are caused to reciprocate in a horizontaldirection, and since the teeth of the plucking rollers are preferablyarranged in helical groups, the teeth 7a, 8a or 107a, 108a will breakthe slabs 1a, 1b etc. uniformly without necessitating any other butforward movement of the slabs. In other words, the rather complicatedmechanism disclosed in the aforementioned U.S. Patent No. 3,139,650which mechanism is used to reciprocate the stacked slabs while they arebeing engaged by the teeth of a plucking roller, and also the grid whichseparates the plucking roller from the end faces of the slabs may bedispensed with without in any way impairing the efficiency of theimproved apparatus. Furthermore, the rate at which the plucking rollers7, 8

or 107, 108 can remove tufts of fibrous material from stacked slabs maybe varied at will, either by changing the rate of speed at which theneedle aprons 2b-5b are driven or by changing the width of windows 11a,11b or windows 111a, 111b (FIG. 3) through which the respective pluckingrollers advance tufts of fibrous material into the .interior of theapparatus, i.e., toward the teasing rollers.

It will be readily understood that, if necessary the carriage 9 or 109may be provided with a single plucking roller or with three or moreplucking rollers. Each plucking roller may consist of several tubularsections which may be replaced independently in the event that certainteeth of a plucking roller are damaged or destroyed. By utilizingcomposite plucking rollers, it is possible to replace damage sections ofone or more rollers without necessitating replacement of the entireroller.

My improved breaking and teasing apparatus requires less power-than anyconventional apparatus of which I am aware at this time. This is due tothe fact that the teeth 7a, 8a or 107a, 108a remove-tufts in thedirection of least resistance, namely, in the general planes of theslabs. The compressed fibrous material of the slabs offers lessresistance to a comminuting action if such actions takes place indirections perpendicular to directions in which a slab was compressed.

' Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gistof the present invention that others can, by applying current knowledge,readily adapt it for various applications without omitting featuresthat, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essentialcharacteristics of the generic and specific aspects of this inventionand, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to becomprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus for simultaneously breaking superimposed slabs ofcompressed fibrous material, comprising at least one toothed pluckingroller having a substantially vertical axis of rotation; means forrotating said plucking roller about said axis; means for reciprocatingsaid plucking roller in a horizontal direction with said axis remainingsubstantially vertical; conveyer means for supporting the slabs offibrous material in horizontal planes and for moving the slabs offibrous material endwise against the reciprocating plucking rollerwhereby the roller removes tufts of fibrous material from the slabs offibrous material, said conveyer means located at one side of saidplucking roller relative to the direction of movement of said slabs; andhousing means defining channel means for tufts of fibrous material, saidchannel means located at the other side of said plucking roller relativeto the direction of movement of said slabs.

2. An apparatus for simultaneously breaking superimposed slabs ofcompressed fibrous material, comprising at least one toothed pluckingroller having an axis of 'rotation; means for rotating said pluckingroller about said axis; means for reciprocating said plucking roller ina plane passing through said axis and in a direction normal to saidaxis; conveyer means for supporting the slabs of fibrous material inplanes which are perpendicular to said axis and to said first mentionedplane and for moving the slabs of fibrous material endwise against thereciprocating plucking roller whereby the roller removes tufts offibrous material from the slabs of fibrous material, said conveyer meanslocated at one side of said first mentioned plane; and housing meansdefining channel means for tufts of fibrous material, said channel meanslocated at the other side of said first mentioned plane, and comprisinga portion which is inclined downwardly in a direction away from saidfirst-mentioned plane.

3. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2, wherein said housing meanscomprises grate means located beneath said portion of said channel meansso that any impurities heavier than said tufts which are removed fromthe slabs of fibrous material by said plucking roller may descendthrough said grate means.

4. An apparatus for simultaneously breaking superimposed substantiallyflat slabs of compressed fibrous material, comprising conveyer means foradvancing the slabs of fibrous material in horizontal planes, saidconveyer means having a discharge end; a carriage adjacent to saiddischarge end, said carriage comprising a pair of spaced pluckingrollers each provided with peripheral teeth and each rotatable about avertical axis; means for rotating said plucking rollers in oppositedirections; and means for reciprocating said carriage and said pluckingrollers in horizontal direction transversely along the discharge end ofsaid conveyer means so that the teeth of said plucking rollers arereciprocated in horizontal planes and remove tufts of fibrous materialfrom the slabs of fibrous material advanced by said conveyer means.

5. An apparatus for simultaneously breaking superimposed substantiallyflat slabs of compressed fibrous material, comprising conveyor means foradvancing the slabs of fibrous material in parallel planes, saidconveyer means having a discharge end; a carriage adjacent to saiddischarge end, said carriage comprising at least one plucking rollerprovided with axially staggered peripheral teeth and rotatable about anaxis of rotation perpendicular to said parallel planes; means forrotating said plucking roller; and means for reciprocating said carriageand said plucking roller in a direction normal to said axis and alongthe discharge'end of said conveyer means so that the teeth of saidplucking roller are reciprocated along end faces of said slabs andremove tufts of fibrous mate- 'rial from the slabs of fibrous materialadvanced by said adjustable in said carriage in horizontal directionand' transversely to the horizontal planes of advancement of said slabs;and shield means onsaid carriage spaced from said discharge end of saidconveyer means and defining window means through which said pluckingroller extends into engagement with the slabs of fibrous materialadvanced by said conveyer means, said shield means preventing the teethof said plucking roller from removing excessively large batches offibrous material from the slabs of fibrous material; means for rotatingsaid plucking roller; and means for reciprocating said carriage and saidplucking roller in horizontal direction transversely along the dischargeend of said conveyer means so that the teeth of said plucking roller arereciprocated in horizontal planes and remove tufts of fibrous materialfrom the slabs of fibrous material advanced by said conveyer means.

7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said shield meanscomprises a plurality of shields.

8. An apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said shield means arerigidly fixed to said carriage.

9. An apparatus as set forth in claim 6, further comprising means forbiasing at least one of said shield means against the slabs of fibrousmaterial.

10. An apparatus as set forth in claim 6, wherein said shield meanscomprises a pluralityof toothed idler rollers having vertical axes ofrotation and rotated by the slabs of fibrous material-when said carriageis reciprocated along the discharge end of said conveyer means.

12. An apparatus for breaking substantially flat slabs" of compressedfibrous material, compressing a carriage ineluding at least one pluckingroller provided with peripheral teeth and rotatable about a verticalaxis; means for rotating said plucking roller about said axis; means forreciprocating said carriage with said plucking roller in a verticalplane passing through said axis so that the carriage is moved back andforth in opposite horizontal directions; conveyer means for advancingthe slabs of fibrous material in horizontal planes, said conveyer meanshaving a discharge end adjacent to one side of said vertical plane sothat slabs of fibrous material advanced by said conveyer means move intoengagement with said plucking roller and the teeth of said roller removetufts of fibrous material and hurl such tufts to the other side of saidvertical plane; housing means defining channel means for the tuftsremoved .by said plucking roller, said channel means having an intakeend adjacent to the other side of said vertical plane; and at least onesubstantially horizontal teasing roller provided in said channel means.

13. An apparatus for breaking substantially fiat slabs of compressedfibrous material, comprising .a carriage including at least one pluckingroller provided with peripheral teeth and rotatable about a verticalaxis; means for rotating said plucking roller about said axis; means forreciprocating said carriage with said plucking roller in a verticalplane passing through said axis so that the carriage is moved back andforth in opposite horizontal directions; conveyer means for advancingthe slabs of fibrous material in horizontal planes, said conveyer meanshaving a discharge end adjacent to one side of said vertical plane sothat slabs of fibrous material advanced by said conveyer means move intoengagement with said plucking roller and the teeth of said roller removetufts of fibrous material and hurl such tufts to the other side of saidvertical plane, said conveyer means comprising a plurality of endlessneedle aprons defining between themselves a passage of substantiallyrectangular cross section through which the slabs of fibrous materialadvance toward said carriage; housing means defining channel means forthe tufts removed by said plucking roller, said channel means having anintake end adjacent to the other side of said vertical plane; and at 8least one substantially horizontal teasing roller provided in saidchannel means.

14. An apparatus for breaking substantially fiat slabs of compressedfibrous material, comprising a carriage including at least one pluckingroller provided with peripheral teeth and rotatable about a verticalaxis; means for rotating said plucking roller about said axis; means forreciprocating said carriage with said plucking roller in a verticalplane passing through said axis so that the carriage is moved back andforth in opposite horizontal directions; conveyer means for advancingthe slabs of fibrous material in horizontal planes, said conveyer meanshaving a discharge end adjacent to one side of said vertical plane sothat slabs of fibrous mate rial advanced by said conveyer means moveinto engagement with said plucking roller and the teeth of said rollerremove tufts of fibrous material and hurl. such tufts to the other sideof said vertical plane, substantially rectangular frame means providedintermediate the discharge end of said conveyer means and said carriage,said frame means defining apassage of diminishing cross section throughwhich the slabs of fibrous material advance toward said carriage;housing means defining channel means for the tufts removed by saidplucking roller, said channel means having an intake end adjacent to theother side of said vertical plane; and at least one substantiallyhorizontal teasing roller provided in said channel means.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,929,344 10/1933Benoit 19-145.5 2,938,239 5/1960 Leineweber et al. l980 3,101,513 8/1963Wildbolz 19-80 FOREIGN PATENTS 437,242 10/1935 Great Britain.

838,793 6/1960 Great Britain.

ROBERT R. MACKEY, Acting Primary Examiner.

DONALD W. PARKER, Examiner.

1. AN APPARATUS FOR SIMULTANEOUSLY BREAKING SUPERIMPOSED SLABS OFCOMPRESSED FIBROUS MATERIAL, COMPRISING AT LEAST ONE TOOTHED PLUCKINGROLLER HAVING A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL AXIS OF ROTATION; MEANS FORROTATING SAID PLUCKING ROLLER ABOUT SAID AXIS; MEANS FOR RECIPROCATINGSAID PLUCKING ROLLER IN A HORIZONTAL DIRECTION WITH SAID AXIS REMAININGROLLER IN A HORIZONTAL DIRECTION WITH SAID AXIS REMAINING SUBSTANTIALLYVERTICAL; C ONVEYER MEANS FOR SUPPORTING THE SLABS OF FIBROUS MATERIALIN HORIZONTAL PLANES AND FOR MOVING THE SLABS OF FIBROUS MATERIALENDWISE AGAINST THE RECIPROCATING PLUCKING ROLLER WHEREBY THE ROLLERREMOVES TUFTS OF FIBROUS MATERIAL FROM THE SLABS OF FIBROUS MATERIAL,SAID CONVEYER MEANS LOCATED AT ONE SIDE OF SAID PLUCKING ROLLER RELATIVETO THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT OF SAID SLABS; AND HOUSING MEANS DEFININGCHANNEL MENAS FOR TUFTS OF FIBROUS MATERIAL, SAID CHANNEL MENAS LOCATEDAT THE OTHER SIDE OF SAID PLUCKING ROLLER RELATIVE TO THE DIRECTION OFMOVEMENT OF SAID SLABS.